None of it made sense.
 |
| Our community flag was shredded. Within a week a new one was flying high. As you see, Sandy did little damage in our area. |
We could not flush our toilets because the main sewer pump was compromised.
But we had help from friends across town who had showers and toilets.
They took our thawed food and we had wonderful meals together.
We then moved to a little town up North. . . and away from hurricanes?
An earthquake south of D.C., over two hours south of us, dismantled some foundations in our little town last Fall.
When hurricane Irene flooded our town last year, people lost homes, clothing and so much more.
Yet, neighbors helped with food and clothing and appliances and rebuilding.
It took a year.
And then Sandy visited us.
 |
| Our new little lake that dried up in about two days. |
The wind was the worst part.
Twenty-four hours of howling.
Thud, thrash, whoosh, plop.
Bushes and trees uprooted or split in two or simply squashed.
And then the rain.
Sheets and sheets of rain . . . with the wind . . . and hail from the drop in temperature.
Soggy soil uplifted roots.
Trees and bushes turned on their sides.
The dry little valley below us became a lake . . . where ducks came by the dozen.
The ducks held on . . . heads to the wind . . . blown to the south side of this new pond.
Yet, within 24 hours it was all over.
Gentle wind, softer rain, fluffy clouds . . .
and a huge drop in temperature from the storm from Canada that hit us at the same time.
We still had electricity.
We had plenty of food.
The little bit of damage was easy to fix.
Our TV worked . . .
So we saw how much real damage this 1000 mile wide storm created.
New Jersey and parts of New York are a mess.
The 80+ homes in Queens were burned to the ground.
Within hours the Red Cross and World Vision and so many other volunteer organizations were there to help.
BUT . . . BUT . . . due to extreme danger from power lines in water, they were not allowed to enter the states.
This is reasonable.
As fast as the power companies and firemen and policemen could work, it could not be fast enough for millions of people.
A catastrophe of this sort left hundreds of people stranded for days before help could arrive.
We hear of dumpster diving.
We hear of no water and no food.
Help was there . . . but helpers could not pass through dangerous areas.
Should more people die so that others can have food and water?
I cannot imagine the cold, dark nights.
I cannot imagine losing everything . . . EVERYTHING . . . in a storm.
Of all the storms and floods and hurricanes and earthquakes I have been through, we were never beyond inconvenience.
My heart sinks each time I see, on the news, the long lines waiting for gas.
I cannot imagine waiting three hours and then being told 'we're out of gas.'
I cannot imagine losing everything . . . and then freezing . . . then being hungry and helpless.
All we can do is DONATE.
The Red Cross is one place we can count on.
World Vision, which has supplies for the needy in a warehouse in the Bronx, lost 1/3 of its inventory.
They help all over the world, including New York and New Jersey.
I trust the Red Cross and I trust World Vision (less than 14% admin. costs).
We are praying for each person affected by the storm.
We are donating now . . .
AND we will donate our CHRISTMAS PRESENT MONEY.
It's going to take BILLIONS to clean up those two states and fix so much that was damaged.
The government cannot . . . and should not . . . pay for as much as they need.
I pray we can all help a bit.
So we give . . . and give some more . . . and then keep on giving . . .
and thanking God we all are able to give a bit . . . even if seems like little.
And it is money, $$$$$$$$, they need.
Not old clothes or used items.
It takes $$$$$$$ to rebuild.
It takes $$$$$$$ to provide what individuals truly need.
There are plenty of people to help.
We survivors . . . we who are merely inconvenienced . . . can help in our own little way.
No comments:
Post a Comment